Week 8 football predictions

The high school football action in Week 8 is headlined by a district matchup between the top two ranked teams in Class 5A, American Heritage at Cardinal Gibbons. Wells Dusenbury and David Furones are picking the clash between the Patriots and Chiefs, plus nine more prime games in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Furones is 37-13 on the year while Duse is a game back in the standings at 36-14. All games are today at 7 p.m. unless noted. AMERICAN HERITAGE (4-0) AT CARDINAL GIBBONS (5-0) Cardinal Gibbons has been waiting for this moment all summer long. After a tough 10-7 playoff loss to the Patriots, the Chiefs are a much more veteran and talented group, especially on defense where they’ve allowed just 12 points all season. Gibbons QB Nik Scalzo admitted to being nervous last year versus Heritage, but he [and the rest of the team] aren’t anymore. Heritage is without a doubt one of the top teams in the country and the defense is ferocious, but I think Gibbons makes just enough plays to pull off the win. Chiefs quarterback Nik Scalzo saw this stellar defense twice as a sophomore and will come in more poised. Route combinations out of Gibbons’ complex Air-Raid offense could free up receivers and, to an extent, mitigate how effective Patriots five-star cornerbacks Patrick Surtain II and Tyson Campbell can be in the press man coverage they specialize in. These factors will keep it close, but Heritage, the nation’s fourth-ranked team (MaxPreps, USA Today), will stop the run better than any previous Chiefs opponent, and quarterback Cam Smith, running back Miles Jones and receiver Anthony Schwartz make enough plays on offense. WESTERN (6-0) AT PLANTATION (5-1) “They’ll tell the [Harrison] story of tonight.” Sorry, had to throw some Hamilton in there. Western QB Harrison Story has been a major key for the Wildcats’ revival, throwing eight TD passes to just one INT, while also rushing for three more scores. Backfield mate Keshaun Clarke (589